Hatoyama to postpone decision on Futemma issue till next year+

TOKYO, Dec. 3 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has apparently decided to postpone a decision on
where to move a U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture until next year out of
consideration for one of the coalition partners, which opposes relocating the
base as agreed upon under a Japan-U.S. deal and is demanding more time for
discussions on this matter.

''We are not discussing this on the premise that it has to be decided within
this year,'' Hatoyama told reporters Thursday evening, while adding ''It has to
be resolved as soon as possible -- that's my position and it hasn't changed.''
The leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan made the comments after
Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima hinted earlier in the day that
her party may leave the ruling coalition if Hatoyama's government decides to
stick to the bilateral deal and move the facility within the prefecture.
Under the original deal, the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan,
Okinawa Prefecture, will be transferred to the coastal area Nago, another
Okinawa city, by 2014.
The DPJ, which won a landslide victory in the August election for the House of
Representatives, formed the coalition with the SDP and the People's New Party
despite differences over foreign policy issues as it still needs their
cooperation in the House of Councillors.
In the morning, Fukushima told party members, ''If the Cabinet decides to build
a sea-based facility in the coastal area of Henoko, the SDP as well as I myself
would have to make a serious decision.''
In an effort to proceed with discussions in the coalition, Chief Cabinet
Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said at a press conference that the government will
hold a meeting sometime soon of leaders and secretaries general of the ruling
parties to discuss Futemma, among other issues.
''It's extremely important to prevent the construction of a sea-based facility
in Henoko. This concerns the basis of the SDP,'' said Fukushima, who is also
minister in charge of consumer affairs and the declining birthrate.
Following her remarks, Hatoyama reiterated that his government will continue to
respect the positions of the coalition partners.
''I have to take (her remarks) seriously,'' he told reporters at the prime
minister's office. ''I fully understand that our Cabinet is tripartite. We want
to care about what both the SDP and PNP believe.''
Japan and the United States are currently examining the relocation issue, with
Japan represented by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister
Toshimi Kitazawa.
Okada has said the issue must be resolved this year, but Hatoyama and Hirano
denied Thursday they had ever said the government should come to a conclusion
by the year-end.
The vague stance of the Hatoyama government has spurred criticism among the
opposition bloc.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, president of the leading opposition Liberal Democratic
Party, said Hatoyama has delayed a decision in vain and this will upset people
in Okinawa and undermine trust between Japan and the United States.
If Hatoyama prioritizes the coalition over security concerns, ''it would
jeopardize the Japan-U.S. relationship, and I would have to say that he lacks a
sense of responsibility as one who should assume responsibility for a nation,''
Tanigaki said.
In 2006, Tokyo and Washington agreed to transfer the Futemma Air Station, which
currently sits in the center of a residential area in the city of Ginowan,
southern Okinawa, to the coastal area of the U.S. Marines' Camp Schwab in a
less densely populated area in Nago by 2014.
The accord is part of a broader Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of U.S.
forces in Japan and also involves the transfer of around 8,000 Marines from
Okinawa to Guam. It was agreed to under an LDP-led Japanese government.
The Hatoyama government has promised to review the agreement for a possible
relocation of the Futemma facility outside the prefecture or even outside the
country, but the U.S. government has pressured Tokyo to stick to the original
plan.
SDP chief Fukushima is set to run in the party's upcoming leadership election
and apparently aimed with Thursday's remarks at containing growing frustrations
over the Futemma issue among SDP members who oppose the building of any new
base in Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan.
There has been speculation that the DPJ may break off the coalition with the
two small partners if it also wins a majority in the upper house in next year's
election.
Okada and Kitazawa will meet Friday with U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos,
and Michael Schiffer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia and the
Pacific, as well as other U.S. representatives to continue to study the issue.
==Kyodo
2009-12-03 23:12:49